Madrid, 15 Mar Amnesty International asked the Spanish authorities not to deport asylum seeker Mohamed Benhlima, whistleblower and anti-corruption activist, sentenced in his country to ten years in prison for disseminating videos about irregularities in the army. In a statement, AI explained on Tuesday that it expressed concern to the Spanish Ministry of the Interior about the case of Benhlima, arrested and pending a judge authorizing his transfer to a Center for Internment for Foreigners (CIE) for his expulsion, and demanded that the surrender be stopped. At present, there are at least 290 politically imprisoned prisoners in Algeria, who are being held in pre-trial detention or convicted for their peaceful activism, emphasizes the NGO. Amnesty echoes the words of Amna Guellali, deputy regional director of the NGO for the Middle East and North Africa, in which he assures that “the Spanish authorities are very aware of the grim fate that awaits Mohamed Benhlima if he is deported”, as “in the last two years, the Algerian authorities have intensified their blatant persecution of activists in their attempt to crush all forms of dissent”. Mohamed Benhlima, AI recalls, is a former military official who publicized corruption among senior Algerian military officials in 2019. He fled to Spain in September of that year, after learning that his name was on a list of soldiers wanted after participating in the Hirak protest movement, and since then he has sought asylum in both Spain and France. In January 2021, he was sentenced “in absentia” to ten years in prison for sharing videos “online” exposing corruption in the army. AI points out that, in a similar case, the Spanish authorities extradited in 2021 former military and asylum seeker Mohmed Abdellah, who was in Spain in 2018 after having publicly accused the Algerian military of corruption, and upon arrival in Algeria he was admitted to a high-security center, where he remains detained and reported torture. CHIEF pgm/fg/ma/fp
Últimas Noticias
Debanhi Escobar: they secured the motel where she was found lifeless in a cistern
Members of the Specialized Prosecutor's Office in Nuevo León secured the Nueva Castilla Motel as part of the investigations into the case
The oldest person in the world died at the age of 119
Kane Tanaka lived in Japan. She was born six months earlier than George Orwell, the same year that the Wright brothers first flew, and Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize
Macabre find in CDMX: they left a body bagged and tied in a taxi
The body was left in the back seats of the car. It was covered with black bags and tied with industrial tape
The eagles of America will face Manchester City in a duel of legends. Here are the details
The top Mexican football champion will play a match with Pep Guardiola's squad in the Lone Star Cup
Why is it good to bring dogs out to know the world when they are puppies
A so-called protection against the spread of diseases threatens the integral development of dogs
